


The Girl Next Door

by After_the_Lights



Series: An Unbreakable Connection - Terraqua Week [7]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, F/M, Meet-Cute, Terraqua Week (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 11:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20723399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/After_the_Lights/pseuds/After_the_Lights
Summary: Apartment 2.8 of Radiant Garden must be cursed. Terra and Ven had lived there for nearly two years and so far no-one – not a single person – has managed to make it to the end of their lease.When a new girl moves in, Terra is, naturally, not particularly interested in getting to know someone who will probably be gone within a couple of weeks. But Ventus, who finds making friends almost as easy as breathing, insists that Terra should introduce himself and make the best first impression possible.After all, everybody needs good neigbours, right?





	The Girl Next Door

**Author's Note:**

> For Terraqua Week 2019 - Day Seven - Prompt: Quote/Free
> 
> I was challenging myself to write and publish each piece for Terraqua Week on the same day but I did not have any spare time to write today at all. 
> 
> So instead I offer you all the very first thing I ever wrote for Terra and Aqua, and Kingdom Hearts in general, back in spring of last year. It was also my first time writing creatively again after a two year break so I was a little rusty, but I still really like this AU.

Apartment 2.8 of Radiant Garden was officially cursed. In their nearly two years of living in the building, no-one had managed to stay until the end of their lease.

The first victims had been the newlyweds, Aurora and Phillip, who were perfectly sweet and sweetly perfect and never short on visitors. If Aunt Flora wasn’t visiting, it’d be Aunt Fauna, and if she couldn’t make it then Aunt Merryweather certainly could. Worst of all, the three occasionally visited all at once, resulting in an evening filled with gossip, singalongs, and the constant whining of a tea kettle that could be heard from across the corridor. Four months after moving in, Aurora was diagnosed with narcolepsy and the couple moved back to her parents for greater family support.

Following them had been the university professor, Dr.Finkelstein, a bad fit right from the start. Third-floor apartments are rarely suitable for those who rely on walking aids and the building’s elevator had an annoying tendency to break down when returning from a large grocery shop. Terra always took the stairs regardless of its functioning state. When the professor inevitably took a tumble and ended up in a wheelchair, he had little choice but to move in with his adopted daughter and her boyfriend.

Then came the plain ridiculous.

Terra could understand that living in the only major city on a small island meant that space came at a premium. He could also, grudgingly, accept that finding a decent place to live in Honolulu on a reasonable budget was not easy; roommates were more often than not a necessity for anyone single under the age of thirty-five. What Terra could not accept, however, were seven men trying to live in an apartment with only one bedroom. If they were able to pay for a maid, a singing maid no less, then they could certainly afford to look for a bigger place.

No-one in the building was entirely sure who had reported them for such a blatant disregard of both safety and tenancy agreements, but Terra had a sneaking suspicion it might have been Ven. He’d been involved in an argument with one of the men, who they later nicknamed Grumpy, in the laundry room. The words '_vertically challenged’_ had passed between the two of them and Ven’s relationship with their new neighbours never really improved.

It was therefore perfectly logical for Terra to sigh when he spotted the pile of boxes stacked next to the elevator, currently out of service, wondering whether this time they’d finally get a neighbour who could make it to the end of the year-long lease unscathed.

“Have you seen her yet?” greeted Ven, who had been standing precariously close to the door, when Terra entered their apartment.

“Seen who?” Terra asked, tossing his keys into their bowl and heading straight for the couch.

“The new girl moving into the apartment opposite.” As if to further make a point, Ven moved to use the viewfinder, though he had to stand on tip-toe and narrowly avoided wobbling into the door.

Terra groaned as he sat down.

“No, I haven’t, though I did see some of the boxes downstairs. And stop that would you! She’s going to notice.”

“No, she’s not. She’s been struggling enough with hauling all her stuff up two flights of stairs to pay attention to anyone watching her. Besides, who in their right mind is going to be using the viewfinder to look into our apartment? Especially when they can just ogle you doing vertical push-ups out on the balcony.”

Terra drew in his breath, slowly, and let it out again as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“No-one spies on me when I’m working out.”

“Yeah, that’s what you’d like to think. Let’s just say you’re very popular with the ladies, and some of the guys, over in Destiny Court. Anyway, I think you should go help her out, and then maybe invite her over for drinks later.”

At that suggestion, Terra turned to face Ven properly and raised an eyebrow.

“Since when do we invite neighbours over for drinks?”

“Since our neighbours became cool-looking girls around about our age.”

“How’d you know she’s cool?”

“She has blue hair, Terra. Blue hair!”

“So does Saix.”

“Not the point,” said Ven with a huff. “She’s been carrying heavy boxes up all those stairs, it’s hot, she has blue hair, and your arm muscles probably weigh more than her. Go help her out.”

Perhaps it was the tone of his friend’s insistence or perhaps it was simply too early to consider dealing with such things, Terra wasn’t sure, but he found himself jumping to his feet and heading for the kitchen area. He poured himself a glass of cold water, no ice, and gulped it down in one. He refilled it and turned to the breakfast bar only to find Ven approaching timidly, concern sketched plain upon his face.

“Did you uh… have a bad run or something?” he asked whilst reaching up with his left hand to scratch the back of his neck.

Terra finished his drink, swallowed deeply, and set the glass down. He paused, as if to choose his words carefully, before simply settling on, “I saw him. Out while I was running.”

“Oh,” said Ven, brow creased. “ Terra, you know that-“

“I’m fine. Really. Don’t worry about it”

“Really? Don’t worry about it?” Ven stopped to glance down at his feet, then fixed his gaze to Terra’s in what Terra could only assume was his best attempt at a glare. “We’ve gone over this before, man. You’re my best friend, it’s my job to worry and no offence but right now, you look like shit.

“Thanks.”

“I’m serious! I’m glad to see you running again but it’s been forever since you last called your Dad and you guys used to talk like twice a week, minimum. You know, he’s even started to call me to remind me to tell you to call him and you’re still no-

“Ven, seriously, I’m fine. Or I’m coping, at least.”

Ven seemed to rise on his feet slightly, expression sceptical, before exhaling and nodding. “Okay. Okay.” He sniffed, long and exaggerated, and said with a slight grimace, “You should probably go take a shower.”

Terra’s mouth quirked upwards as he nodded. “Agreed. My client will probably kill me if I arrive like this.”

“Who’ve you got today?”

“Ursula.”

“Isn’t she the one who ignores all your meal-plans and thinks she can lose 20 pounds by only eating sashimi?”

“The one and only,” Terra answered, but before he could head to the bathroom to freshen up, Ven reached out for his arm and dragged him down into his embrace.

Hugs instigated by Ven were nearly always awkward affairs and this one was no different. Ven really was small, but loyal and strong in a way that belied his diminutive size. Few people dared to hug Terra without permission and few knew him better than Ven. He knew how his mind ticked, how to get him to focus, and how to get him to stop. With all the time they’d spent living together, he pretty much knew it all.

“Everything’s gonna be alright.”

Terra nodded and curled his arm around his back, leaning forward to place his chin on top of Ven’s head, resting as they were for just a moment. Ven was his best friend, the little brother he’d never asked for but had been given anyway, and most of the time it felt like enough. But lately, just as the past conversation showed, simply having each other and carrying on as they’d always done was not solving anything. If anything, it made Terra feel worse.

“Thank you,” he whispered, extricating himself from Ven’s grasp.

Ven stepped back and smiled, somewhat sheepishly. “That’s a promise, from me to you. Now go get in the shower before you stink up the rest of this place.”

“Roger that.”

He emerged ten minutes later in clean clothes and with his kit bag slung across his shoulders, stubbornly dragging a comb through his hair. He reached the door and slid both the comb and his keys into his pockets, before turning around to find Ven, now lounging out on their paltry excuse for a balcony.

“I’m off now. See you later.”

“Have fun shouting at people on treadmills!” Ven yelled back. “And if you see any blue-haired girls, be a gentleman and go say hi.”

Terra narrowly avoided sighing into the palm of his hand. “Will do.”

He opened the door and almost expected to see her there, trying to regain her breath from carting boxes upstairs. Luck appeared to be on his side though as the hallway was empty, as were the stairwell and entrance lobby. The boxes, however, remained stacked up by the elevator. He paid them a glance, trying to see if any featured some labels that could tell him more about their owner, but the most interesting appeared to be written in a foreign language, Italian or maybe Portuguese. It would be just their luck to end up with a new neighbour who couldn’t speak a lick of English.

As long as she wasn’t a disturbance, and was here legally, that’d suit Terra fine. Asking for normal in Radiant Garden tended to be pushing it.

Life in the building came with a soundtrack of jangly sitar music, courtesy of a young man named Demyx who seemingly based his personal style upon David Bowie circa 1972. No one could say for certain what Demyx actually did for a living, given his near-permanent playing position out on their scruffy excuse of a lawn, but guesses ranged from yoga instructor, hipster barista and possible marijuana dealer, to marine biologist.

Ven had come up with the latter, reasoning that due to Hawai’i’s reputation as a mecca for all things marine, there was no reason to rule Demyx out of such an occupation. Terra had pointed out that he was far more likely to be a surfing instruction and the two proceeded to debate the issue for hours before finally agreeing on a $50 bet which had yet to be resolved.

In the apartment next to theirs left lived Saix, a permanently frazzled trainee cardiologist who was rumoured to keep a supply of hearts in his freezer. Luxord, who could be found in 2.10, was a mixologist and always challenging others to a game of poker, beguiling many newcomers with his English accent. Most residents knew by now that you did not play cards with him under any circumstances, no matter how many drinks he offered to make.

And downstairs, on the first floor, lived Mickey and Minnie, an adorable retired couple who still insisted on taking Ven out for ice cream despite him now being a legal adult. Not that Ven ever saw that as a reason to refuse.

The two of them were outside now, hand in hand, no doubt returning from their morning walk along the beach.

“Good morning Terra.” They greeted him in unison, which would probably be creepy if they weren’t possibly the nicest people Terra had ever met.

“Morning’,” he replied with a smile as he made his way past them.

“Oh, Terra,” began Minnie, and when he swivelled round to face her she suddenly looked distraught. “We’re very sorry to have to do this, but could you please apologise to Ventus for us. A dear friend of ours, Goofy, is staying with us this weekend with his son, so, unfortunately, we won’t be able to take Ventus out to Scrooge’s for ice cream like we usually do.”

She sounded so disappointed with this change to their weekly schedule it was almost comical and Terra had to stop himself from grinning too broadly.

“Of course I can, Minnie. Ven could probably do with a little break from all that ice cream anyway.”

“He sure does seem to be able to eat a lot of it,” said Mickey. “Thank you, Terra. Have a nice day.”

“You too.”

The smile remained on his face for the entirety of his walk, right up until he reached the gym’s parking lot and saw the van emblazoned with _Strife Delivery Service_ parked as close to the entrance as one could get. If the van was here then that meant Cloud was here, and if Cloud was here, that meant Zack would be doing absolutely no work today whatsoever.

He glared at the van and entered, heading straight for the reception to sign-in and check his schedule.

“So… I take it Cloud is here?” he asked the receptionist as he studied his list of clients for the day.

“You haven’t checked your emails yet have you, tall, dark, and earthy,” said Megara, smirking as he glowered at the nickname. “Yes, Cloud is here and no, it’s not one of his usual visits. He actually has a reason for being here this time. But since your first client doesn’t get here for another fifteen minutes, I’m going to suggest you go ask Wonderboy instead of me. Bye now.”

Wonderboy was more commonly known as Hercules, the child of two Classical Studies professors, and he was more than happy to bring Terra up to speed over a pair of strawberry protein shakes.

“Zack’s proposing to Aerith,” he said plainly and almost laughed when Terra began spluttering, only narrowly avoiding coughing up his drink.

“Zack is doing what?” Terra croaked as he beat himself on the chest with his free hand.

“Zack is proposing to Aerith. He sent everyone an email about it last night, explaining all the details. Turns out that Zumba class he was so eager to teach… Well, he wasn’t teaching them Zumba. Instead, he taught them all an elaborate dance routine set to Aerith’s favourite song so that they can perform it right before he pops the question. Only now, of course, he’s having a panic attack so we called Cloud in to help calm him down.”

Terra stared blankly at Hercules as he processed everything his colleague had told him. When he finally managed to make sense of it all he inhaled deeply before asking, “And Phil is ok with this?”

Hercules laughed. “Phil’s been in on this longer than anyone else. Zack went and told him what he wanted to do right before he started teaching the class. Apparently, Phil said yes immediately, just as long as he can film it and stick it on our website. I think he expects it to go viral.”

Terra nodded and then swallowed. “And what time is this all supposed to be happening?”

“One thirty, give or take,” said Hercules, taking a swig of his drink. “Of course, it all depends on whether or not our illustrious hero can focus and calm his nerves enough to actually do it.”

“One thirty. Isn’t that the same time Yuffie teaches the New Mothers’ Pilates class?”

“Yup.”

“Oh God,” Terra baulked, eyes wide. “There’s going to be so much screaming.”

“Don’t worry,” Hercules said, patting him on the back. “There’s a bottle of champagne in the fridge and if you need something stronger then I know where Phil keeps his stash of ouzo.”

At that moment, Terra’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out to see that it was a message from Meg.

_Ursula arrived. Found a new place that does the best Botan Ebi ever. Have fun! ;)_

He grimaced. “You know what Herc?” he said, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “I think I may have to take you up on that.”

* * *

Terra plodded up the stairs vowing never to drink ouzo again. Ouzo apparently did not cure headaches; it existed solely to make them worse.

The headache had initially appeared due to the cheering and the crying, the crying mostly from Zack when he found his courage and knelt down after the dance extravaganza to ask Aerith to be his wife. Terra could have sworn that an audible sigh of _finally_ passed through the room as she answered with a tearful yes, but then Yuffie had entered the studio with her New Mothers’ group in tow and the screaming and gushing and cries of _Oh My God b_egan and refused to cease for the next half hour.

Phil had congratulated them both and presented the couple with the bottle of champagne and then Hercules appeared, Megara on his arm and looking the happiest Terra had ever seen her, with a grin and a bottle of the Greek liqueur. In fact, the only person Terra could recall not looking happy was Cloud who, instead of joining the circle of people toasting the couple and pulling them in for hugs, remained stock-still by the door as if he of all people wasn’t supposed to be there.

All in all in had been a great workday, possibly the happiest Terra had ever had. Good but noisy, and with the throbbing he could feel in his head all he wanted to do now was collapse on the couch and maybe watch a wildlife documentary featuring the soothing tones of Sir David Attenborough.

He reached the third-floor corridor only to be welcomed by a dull thud and a woman’s voice churning out what sounded like foreign invectives.

Ven was right. Her hair was blue, a blatantly bright shade of blue like a midsummer sky. Not a colour that anyone could ever miss. She was kneeling down, checking the contents of one of the boxes, the door to apartment 2.8 flung wide open.

Terra reminded himself of Ven’s words, to be a gentleman, as he walked towards her. He came to a stop a few paces away and cleared his throat as loudly as he could muster, before saying, “Need any help?”

She flinched, though only slightly, and stood up to turn and face him. She was short, not as short as Ven, but still probably a good head shorter than him. Her hair was roughly cut, skirting her chin in the front and barely touching her collar in the back, and Terra could now see that its shade matched her eyes, a brilliant blue not too dissimilar from his own. She wore a halter neck top and shorts and as far as he could tell, hardly any makeup on her pale face. Here in Hawai’i, she’d probably be applying sunscreen every hour, on the hour.

It was a striking combination, a look he hadn’t seen on any women he’d known before. Not that he was about to tell her that.

“Help would be wonderful,” she said with a smile. “I swear my arms are about to drop off from all this lifting. Though I’m going to have to ask for an introduction first. I can’t just start inviting strangers into my brand new place.”

He matched her grin. “That’s probably wise. Well then, I’m Terra and I live right here in 2.9 with my buddy Ven. He actually mentioned this morning that he’d seen a woman with blue hair hauling boxes up the stairs. So I’m guessing that’s you.” He stuck out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Really?” She raised her eyebrows. “Your name’s Terra?”

He nodded and said slowly, “Yes. Is there a problem with that?” It wasn’t the first time someone had questioned his parent’s naming decision; after all, it was a name more commonly given to girls. Still, it was hardly the weirdest name anyone had ever come across. There was a guy living on the first floor called Xemnas, for God’s sake.

“No, no problem. I just don’t meet too many people with elemental names like mine. I’m Aqua, and yes, I am indeed your new neighbour here in 2.8, and,” she said as she grasped his hand to shake it, “it’s very nice to meet you too. Now, do you think you could grab that box there? It was a pain in the backside to get up here and if I have to lift it again I think I might actually scream.”

Terra acquiesced with a hum, dropping his kit bag, and moved to pick up the box, narrowly avoiding stumbling over his own feet and landing face-first in the carpet.

“No problem,” he said upon reaching it and hoisted it up. “Where’d you like me to put it.”

She pressed a finger to her lips, as if seriously pondering his question. “Hmmm. I was initially just trying to get them all into the lounge area but since you look like a pretty strong guy, would you mind putting it down on the bed for me, please.”

The layout of the apartment appeared to be the inverse of his own so he let her direct him to the bedroom, trying all the while not to let the slightest sign of strain show upon his face. He exhaled slowly as he set it down on her bed.

“There you go.”

“Thank you.”

He took the opportunity to look around the apartment. Being a one-bedroom, it was unsurprisingly smaller than his and Ven’s, though it did look like the balcony was slightly larger. It also looked brand new, as though it had been redecorated, and considering whom the last occupants had been, Terra was not at all surprised. He didn’t feel the need to tell Aqua about the crush of bunk beds, at least, not just yet.

She had apparently noticed his gaze. “Nicer than your place?”

“I guess. We’ve been here a couple years now and this place looks like it’s had a few renovations.”

She nodded with a quiet hum. “Yeah. It’s nicer than my last place, that’s for sure. Plus it’s pretty handy for work.”

“Really? And where would that be?”

“One of the language schools downtown. I teach English to non-native speakers and Italian to everyone else. How about you?”

So that had been the language on the box labels. Italian.

“Me? Oh, I’m a personal trainer at a gym. It’s called The Coliseum. And it looks kind of like a coliseum on the outside too. It’s kind of tacky I suppose, but you can’t miss it. And the classes and trainers are all really good. You should stop by some time, you know, if you ever want to.”

Aqua had raised a hand to her mouth halfway through his speech and was trying to cover up her quiet chuckles with coughing. She was not succeeding. She cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

“I’m going to assume you’re saying that to be nice and make conversation and not because you think I need a work-out since I can’t move all these boxes by myself.”

“No, no, no!” he stammered. “I did not mean that at all. What I meant was…”

“I know what you meant, Terra. And thanks. I actually think I saw it while I was out getting lunch. It looked kind of intriguing so I may have to take you up on that offer.”

Terra sighed, in relief for once, and with little else to do, placed his hands in his pockets.

“Any more boxes you need carrying?”

Aqua puffed out her cheeks. “I think that was the heaviest of the ones left, so I should be fine for now. Unless you hear me shouting at them again, in which case, please do come back and help me.”

“You sure?”

“Positive. Anyway, can I get you anything for being such a gentleman? A drink maybe, or some food? I’m pretty sure Lauriam gave me a box of Florentines as a farewell present.” She placed a finger to her lips again. “Though I suppose being a personal trainer you probably have a really strict food regime that you stick to, right?”

She was right. Though it apparently went flying out of the window on days when senior colleagues got engaged.

That train of thought made him look, almost involuntarily, at her left hand, which was without a ring. He looked away almost as quickly. He was surprised, first at the absence of a ring, and secondly, that the absence of a ring could make him feel so happy. This was not what he needed right now.

“No, no, I’m good for now,” he said and cleared his throat. “I’d best be going anyway. Need to make a start on dinner.

“Of course,” she said and made a move for the door. “Thanks again. I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Yeah, I guess you will. Have a nice evening.”

He exited her apartment and picked up his bag as she shut the door. He paused in front of his own for a few seconds and then entered to find Ven, for the second time that day, standing dangerously close to the door.

“So,” began Ven, stretching out the word with a smirk in his voice, “did you invite her over for drinks?”

“No,” replied Terra as he dropped the kit bag and headed for the couch.

“Then please tell me you were at least a gentleman?”

“Yes, I was a gentleman. I helped her move the heaviest box she had.” He paused briefly to mull over his words. “Then I suggested she try out some classes at The Coliseum.”

“Wow, Terra. Wow. Real smooth.”

“It wasn’t like that,” he protested and decided to change the subject. “Anyway, what do you want for dinner?”

“Oh right, dinner.” Terra glanced over his shoulder to see Ven shifting from one foot to the other. “I’ve kind of done most of it”

“You mean to say you cooked?”

Ven bobbed his head from side to side, a strange horizontal nod. “Sort of. I’ve done all the prep. You didn’t look as though you were in the best of moods this morning, so I dug out your grandma’s recipe for Yakisoba and went to the store and got all the ingredients. I’ve cut up all the meat and veggies and made the sauce. But I figured I’d leave the actual cooking to you since we both know what tends to happen when I get near a stove.”

That they most certainly did and it had only narrowly avoided resulting in fire alarms, evacuations, and their eviction.

He had little choice but to smile at Ven, who was standing awkwardly and scratching the back of his neck.

“Thanks, Ven. You’re the best.”

“I try,” said Ven. “Now tell me exactly what you said to her. I wanna know everything!”

Terra groaned. It was going to be one long evening.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have any plans to continue this story in the immediate future, but it is something I've thought about and I do have an outline for the entire fic lying about somewhere. So maybe someday - when I've finally managed to get through all of my other WiPs. 
> 
> But in case anyone's really interested in this AU, Ven is studying to be a paediatric nurse, Terra is of Japanese ancestry, and Aqua speaks fluent Italian because her father was university lecturer who took up a post in Genoa, which is a reference to the Willa Holland film Genova/A Summer in Genoa. 
> 
> And yes, I did make a reference to the Australian soap opera Neighbours in the summary and no, I do not feel any shame at all.


End file.
